An Arrow Through My Heart: Lord Sesshomaru
by Ash Navan
Summary: A blind girl related to the Higurashi family falls into the Hidden Well and finds herself flat on her face before Lord Sesshomaru. Very interesting plot! Please Rate and Review!
1. An Explanation

An Arrow Through My Heart

_A Sesshomaru Fanfic_

By: Ash Navan

Kayami (sounds like Kay-mee) - She has long black hair that is rather wavy, styled with bangs. Although she is blind, she has eyes that would be reddish-amber, if not for the milky color that happens when one is born blind. So, they are a pale hazel color. Also, despite her blindness, Kayami maintains an athletic physique. She is of medium height, attractive, has long legs, an oval face, long lashes, large eyes, pencil-thin black eyebrows. She is very pretty. Kayami looks kind of like Kagome, but she has more muscle to her, and is taller. She is also eighteen years old. She generally keeps her eyes half open, and when something out of the ordinary happens, or she is surprised, nervous, angry or frightened, she closes them all the way. Kayami usually keeps her face down, and most of the time she doesn't open her eyes all the way.

Kayami is sometimes shy and quiet, usually a bubbly personality, sometimes serious; she likes to tease/make fun of herself and others. She is also creative, curious, alert. Kayami learns quickly, is highly intelligent, determined, has a strong personality, loves her true friends, and trusts rather easily.

Normal (Our Era);

Black jeans and a long sleeved shirt, with soft, flat, black boots, and a red hoodie, usually wears a silver wolf pendent on a black cord around her neck

Normal (Traveling - Feudal Era);

Formfitting red tunic-type blouse, black legging-like pants, thick black leather belt that holds weapons, soft black leather boots, black cape - also wears wolf necklace

Fighting / War (Feudal Era);

Loose black pants, formfitting red-tunic type blouse, thick black leather belt for weapons, tall hard leather black boots - also wears wolf necklace

Weapons - large dagger, magical bow and arrow from Kaede

Kayami is from our era and she lived in New York City. Her grandmother, Keyai Higurashi moved to America when she was young. - - author: *winks* The plot thickens already, does it not? ;D - - Kayami's father died before she was born in a car crash and her mother died from cancer when she was twelve. She has lived with her grandmother since then. Several months ago, Kayami's grandmother had a stroke, and so now Kayami is moving to live with her now-dead grandmother's brother, whose family is Kayami's only remaining relatives. Enter the Higurashi Shrine Family!


	2. Chapter 1: An Ending and A Beginning

Chapter One: OMFGx2!

Kayami woke with a start. The angle of the plane had changed. _Are we there already?_ she thought. Slightly disoriented, she reached out with her left hand. She started when a warm touch met her searching fingers.

"Are you alright, Kayami?" The American social worker held Kayami's hand in reassurance. Jade Burltan had very warm hands, and her voice was soft and gentle. Jade's voice reminded Kayami of the cat that she had before she had to leave New York City after her grandmother, Keyai Higurashi, died.

Kayami liked Jade better that the past three social workers that she had been assigned to. Part of this was due to the fact that Jade let Kayami call her by her first name, and Jade used Kayami's first name.

"Yes." Kayami turned her face away. "Are we nearly there?"

"Yeah. Are you excited to meet your relatives?" Kayami nodded.

For a few moments, Kayami kept holding onto Jade's hand. Then she squeezed it in gratitude, and folded her hands neatly in her lap.

"Will you tell me what you can see?" Kayami asked, her eyes closed, her face down.

Kayami felt Jade shift beside her. "I can only really see clouds right now…."

"That's alright. Please?" _I don't know what clouds look like….anything will do._

Jade patted her shoulder. "Alright. Let's see, well, the sky is very clear, and looks like glass, the clouds are white and look like cotton balls….and I can see gray beneath them….that must be Tokyo beneath us that I'm seeing….can't really see anything, it's just a gray, sprawling mass." Jade took a breath, as if to continue.

"Thank you, Jade." Kayami leaned her head back. She felt Jade shift again beside her, probably getting comfortable again. Jade signed.

Ten minutes later, the flight attendant announced that they were approaching their landing destination.

"Please buckle up, and remain seated!"

Kayami started to fumble around for her seat belt, but gave up after a few moments. "Jade, I need help."

"Alright," Kayami heard Jade unbuckle and an instant later, felt the buckle tighten around her hips.

"Thanks."

"No problem, 'K'." Jade patted her shoulder, and Kayami smiled.

When Kayami's ears popped as the plane descended, she gasped and grabbed for Jade's hand, but grabbed her elbow instead. Shaking her head, she waited for the unexpected nausea to pass.

"Are you okay?" Jade's voice was concerned, and she had her hand on Kayami's shoulder.

"Um….yeah? Yes." Her voice came out as a croak. She released Jade's elbow, and sat back in her seat. Jade's hand remained on her shoulder, which was comforting to Kayami.

_What was the queasiness all about? That didn't happen when I landed in California….?_ She put the event in the back of her mind.

During the past eight and a half months, Kayami had gotten very good at shoving stuff to the back of her mind. She'd gotten a lot of practice. Her mother had been killed in a hit-and-run accident, so she's gone to live with her grandmother, but then Grans had passed away from a heart failure. Then, it had taken two months to find her relatives in Tokyo and another to get everything settled for Kayami to live with these relatives.

She went over her 'new family' in her head. _Youngest is Sota Higurashi, his older sister is Kagome Higurashi, and their mother is _____ Higurashi. _____ Higurashi is my Gran's brother, so he's kinda like my Grandfather….He said I could call him 'Gramps'....I never knew my grandfather...._

Kagome, the fifteen-year-old girl, had written to her several times. She was always perky in her letters, as though trying to cheer Kayami up, but when she talked to Kagome on the phone in California, there had been a much older-sounding tone beneath the perkiness, as though she had known things that weren't meant to be known, things of sorrow and pain. Kayami wondered what that was all about. She had talked to Sota, too. He was excited about having a new 'sister'. Kayami felt that it would take her a while to get used to this happy-go-lucky sounding family, and having been an only child, and also considering her recent past, was sure that she wasn't going to be very sisterly. Out of all four members of Kayami's new family, only ____ had seemed to be affected by Gran's death. He had cried, and Kayami had let some of her sadness show, too. She cried for a couple of hours in the hotel bathroom after that conversation, but had managed to shove her sorrow and pain back into the darkness of her subconscious.

The plane landed with a few bumps, which jostled Jade's hand from Kayami's shoulder.

As soon as the plane coasted to a halt, the other passengers started talking. And the moment that the plane's engines cut out, the noise crescendoed with the sound of shuffling feet and hands grabbing for carry-on bags. Kayami sat still. When the sounds of the people had slowed to a trickle, Jade put her hand on Kayami's elbow and helped her stand up. Jade guided Kayami through the plane to the stairs. She stumbled slightly when the stairs into the terminal ended, but Jade's ever-ready and capable hands caught and steadied her.

"Thanks, Jade."

"No problem, Kayami. Now, let's see if I can find the Higurashi's anywhere…."

Kayami's stomach fluttered, but her face registered none of her nervousness.

"Oh! There they are! It's Mr. Higurashi and Sota Higurashi here for you, Kayami!"

Kayami smiled in the direction of Jade's voice. Her stomach heaved.

"Good afternoon, Jade-sama." An older man's voice greeted Jade. A coarse hand took Kayami's hand and she jumped.

"Kayami-san...." A gruff voice said softly.

Kayami's queasiness vanished as she recognized the voice.

"Mr. Higurashi - Grandpa?"

"Yes, Kayami. And just 'Gramps', remember?" He sounded extremely pleased.

Kayami took a hold of his arm so she could know where, exactly, he was standing. Once she was sure, she hugged him tightly. Grandpa Higurashi hugged Kayami like her Grans had. Tears started to come to her eyes, but she blinked rapidly to rid herself of them. When they released each other, Kayami's face was clear of any sorrow.

A smaller hand, less weathered that Gramp's, placed itself in hers.

"Sota?"

"Yeah, Kayami-neechan?"

Gramps laughed. "He's determined that you will be his new sister, since Kagome isn't home much."

"Oh?" Kayami reached for Sota's head. "I'll be happy to be like a sister to you. Do you know, I've always wanted a sibling, Sota? Why isn't Kagome home?" The last was directed at Grandpa Higurashi, even though her head didn't move.

There was a moments hesitation.

"She's usually out with friends. It was just coincidence that she was home those few times you talked on the phone." Grandpa said after clearing his throat.

"Come on, Gramps, lets just get Kayami-neechan home, already!!"

Kayami, Jade and Grandpa Higurashi laughed at Sota's impatience, but complied. Within moments, Kayami's luggage was stowed in the trunk of a taxi, her good-byes to Jade said, and she was on her way to a new life that would be unlike anything she had ever dreamed of.


	3. Chapter 2: A Little Fall

Chapter Two: A Little Stumble?

Kayami felt her way towards her new bed and flopped down on it with a sigh. She'd been at the Higurashi Shrine for Two days now, and was still having trouble telling the difference between outside the house and inside. The only thing that was easy to remember was the kitchen, because she had spent so much time there, talking with Mrs. Higurashi, Gramps, and Sota. She hadn't caught so much as a whisper of Kagome's voice from her room, and she hadn't been mentioned by any of the other Higurashi's.

From the den, she heard Mrs. Higurashi calling for Sota to come in.

At the thought of Sota she smiled. She'd never been accepted so whole-heartedly, so easily, into some one's day to day life as she's been accepted into Sota's. He acted like he was utterly devoted towards her, and in return for his gentle caring, Kayami spent most of her time with him, making her new little brother laugh. Already, he'd given her a nickname. __________, he called her.

Kayami's door opened and she sat up with a start.

"Kayami, dear," it was Mrs. Higurashi, "Sota and I are going to lunch, Grandpa will be in the storehouse, okay?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Higurashi," Kayami said, smiling at the direction of her door, where she could hear Sota's mother's breathing.

"If you need anything, just go to the kitchen door and call for Grandpa, okay? We'll be back soon. Bye, dear!" The last was said as an afterthought as Mrs. Higurashi stepped lightly down the stairs.

Kayami fell back onto her bed with a sigh. Life at the Shrine wasn't so bad, it was just hard for Kayami to get around, what with the sliding doors and all. It felt like wandering a maze when she was walking by herself.

Kayami moaned and rubbed her temples. Padded feet moved across her bedroom floor and a weight jumped onto the bed by her hips, then walked up by her head. Whiskers tickled Kayami's face. She smiled.

"Hey, Buyo," she said, scratching his chin. He purred, then jumped off the bed to stand by her feet, and meowed. Kayami knelt next to him.

"What's the matter, sweet pea?" she cooed at him, stroking his back.

Buyo meowed and stepped away, almost as though he expected Kayami to follow him. Which she did.

Kayami stood up and held on gently to the tip of Buyo's tail so that she could follow him. When they got to the stairs, she sat down and slid down them, step by step. Buyo led her through the house, and then, because the sound of traffic and birds grew slightly louder, Kayami assumed that they were outside.

She wasn't entirely sure, however, because a few moments later the temperature dropped sharply, and most of the sounds of Tokyo were tuned out, as though they had been shut off.

Buyo must have jumped ahead, because his tail slipped from her fingers as though it had been buttered, and she was left groping for her way.

Suddenly, she fell forward, and hit her head on stone wall.

"OW!!!" she yelped. She sat up and a wave of nausea washed over her. _Dude! What the hell is with the throwing up feeling?!?_

She slid her hand up the stone wall, and discovered that it had a wooden top. _Well, that's a bit out of the ordinary...._

Kayami used the smooth wood to pull herself to her feet. Suddenly feeling nervous in the unnatural silence and cold, she tried to call for Buyo. Her voice shocked her. It was like a rasp of sandpaper. She cleared her throat with difficulty. _My mouth feels so dry! Ugh!_

"Buyo?" Hearing her own voice was rather reassuring, so she called again. "Buyo!"

Something soft and warm touched her ankle, startling Kayami. She gave a soft scream and leaned backwards, lifting her feet.

And then she was falling....falling further than she would have thought possible. Kayami's scream turned into a real, throat-ripping scream, as gravity worked it's deadly magic on her unresisting body.

But she didn't land as hard as she thought she would. Instead of being splattered on the bottom of whatever she had been sitting on - _The Hidden Well?_ - she was set down gently, almost caressingly.

"Hn?" _What in the name of all that is unholy was that all about?_ Kayami thought.

"Buyo?" she called, tilting her face up. No answering **meow** met her avid ears.

"Hn...." she said again.

Carefully, she stood up. Kayami stretched her arms out in front of her, and met with a stone wall, that felt remarkably like the one she had hit her head on. To each side were more stone walls, and then another behind Kayami. They went up as far as she could reach, and she couldn't hear much besides the wind and birdsong that sounded impossibly far away. But the fact that Kayami's heart was pounding with fear in her throat didn't help her hearing much.

She stretched onto her tiptoes, trying to feel that wooden slat that had topped the stone wall.

"URGH!" Kayami grunted, and slapped her hand on the stone wall. Which hurt. Alot.

_Ouch._ Kayami thought. _Well, that was stupid of me. Urgh._

"HELLO!!" Kayami called again, cupping her mouth and tipping her head back.

No answer. _Well, did you really expect one, Kayami?_ she asked herself.

Kayami stretched up as far as she could go up the wall, then tentatively began feeling for fingerholds. She moved up the wall that seemed never ending to Kayami's nervous fingers. She wasn't sure how far she had gotten, but she was pretty sure it would hurt if she fell. Her fingers touched smooth wood.

_Yes!_ She grimaced with effort as she pulled herself another few inches up the wall. As soon as she had a good grip on the wood, she moved her feet up so she could get over the wall, but her feet slipped and her hold was severly tested as stone crumbled away beneath her toes. She yelped, and the surge of adrenaline that came with her fear gave Kayami the strength in her tired muscles to heave herself over the edge and onto the ground on the other side.

Kayami lay panting in the grass as the sun's warm fingers stroked her face calmingly. Slowly, she got her breath back, and she sat up, fingers searching in an arch around her, exploring the terrain.

Suddenly, realization struck her and she froze.

_It's sunny....and warm...._Kayami thought back to before she fell. She shivered when she remembered the unnatural cold. Then she remembered another disturbing fact. The ground around what she thought was the hidden well had been like packed dirt, with no vegetation.

_So why is there grass all around me?_


	4. Chapter 3: Sesshomarusama

Chapter Three: Sesshomaru-sama

_What the hell just happened?!?_ Kayami's heart was pounding in her ears so that she could hardly hear the birdsong that had suddenly quieted. Her fingers clenched the grass, ripping it up by its roots. She sat frozen in fear for several minutes before she realized that she was hyperventilating and lightheaded.

_Okay, just calm down, remember to keep breathing...._

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my godomygodomygodomygod omygodomygod" Kayami muttered to herself.

She took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves. It didn't help. So she took another breath and held it.

The area around the well was silent.

_Weren't there birds singing before?_ Kayami still held her breath, and her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, it was beating so hard.

There was a quiet footstep behind her. Kayami spun around towards the noise with a gasp, and held her hands out in front of her. Her eyes were wide open, something that she normally didn't do.

"Who – Who's there?!" her voice quavered with fear, and she hated herself for showing that weakness to whatever was by the well.

Silence.

"Hello?" Kayami's eyelids drooped back down to cover her useless eyes. She kneeled forward and started feeling her way towards where she had heard the footstep.

_This probably isn't the smartest thing to do, baka,_ Kayami told herself.

She slowly made her way forward on her hands and knees, feeling the ground in front of her to make sure she didn't hit anything or fall down anywhere, or slam her head into the knees of whoever was watching her. There was a large hollow in the ground in front of her, and she paused to try to figure out the best way to go around it.

That's when she heard the breathing. It was coming from directly over her head.

With a gasp of fright, she shoved herself backwards several feet, and felt her hair come loose from its ponytail. Her hair tumbled down around her shoulders as her heart drummed in her throat.

"Who the hell are you?!" She yelled angrily. She didn't expect this person to answer her, since he or she hadn't already.

"A question I could very well put to you," a cold voice answered her. Kayami shivered, but put on a brave front. She was very good at doing this.

"I asked you first. So who in the name of summer vacation are you?!"

An annoying screechy voice answered. "Such rudeness! Lord Sesshomaru, may I take care of this insolent human for you?"

"No, Jaken." The cold voice again.

Kayami butted in. "So, your name's Sesshomaru? Why didn't you just say so?!" Kayami carefully stood up her hands slightly out in front of her and to the sides.

"Because I did not feel like it." The voice was unmistakably male and bored.

"What kind of an answer is that, baka? What the hell?!" Kayami was trembling.

Jaken, the annoying voice person, shoved his two cents in again. "Sesshomaru-sama! How can you permit such disrespect to your station?!"

"Shut up, Jaken. If you do not, I shall kill you."

Kayami shuddered. This Sesshomaru freak sounded as if he meant it.

Jaken was silent.

"Onna, why are you here at the Bone Eater's Well?" Sesshomaru's voice had gotten closer to Kayami, but she had not heard him move. Adrenaline shot through her body and she shuddered, yet again. She scowled and didn't answer.

A warm breeze brushed her face. It smelled of winter and somehow reminded Kayami of nighttime.

"Onna baka," Sesshomaru's voice caused another warm breeze into Kayami's face, and she jumped backwards with a startled cry. She caught her ankle on a root and fell backwards, hitting her head hard.

She lay on her back, trying not to cry in pain, and then curled up into a fetal position. _Maybe he'll get bored and go away._ Kayami hugged her knees tighter to her torso.

She felt the earth vibrate slightly as Sesshomaru stepped closer, and she worked hard to suppress the tremor of fear that tried to run down her spine. Kayami scrunched her eyes shut tight. Fear drummed in her ears.

"Kagome? Is that you?" A voice from the direction of the well called through the forest. Sesshomaru swore gently under his breath. He nudged Kayami with his toe, then turned away.

"Jaken. Come." He walked away, and Jaken went with him.

For several seconds, Kayami lay on the forest floor, trying to catch her breath and get rid of the adrenaline that was still rushing through her body.

The voice in the forest didn't call again, and Kayami begged whatever powers that be that the person didn't meet Sesshomaru.

Kayami sat up and patted her hair, pulling out leaves and trying to find her hair-tie.

_Dammit. Well, that's the fourth one I've lost since moving to Tokyo._ Kayami scowled.

"Whatever," she sighed.

Kayami began to crawl. She didn't try to figure out which direction to go in, she just went with the one that was facing her.

_Again, baka, another bad idea._

_Shut up_, Kayami told the little voice in her head. She kept crawling, her venturing hands keeping her from slamming her head into a tree.

_*** * * * ***_

_**Several Hours Later**_

_*** * * * ***_

Kayami decided to just give up. She'd been crawling for what felt like days, although it was probably just a few hours. She was thirsty and tired, and her stomach had started growling every few minutes in the most annoying fashion.

She flopped onto her stomach and groaned.

Seconds later, she was scrambling backwards. A rustle in a bush near her head had frightened her.

"Who's there!?" she whispered.

"Meow" was the reply.

"Kitty?" Kayami stretched her hand towards the meow.

A warm furry head pushed itself under Kayami's hand.

Kayami sighed happily. Cats had always loved Kayami, her friends' usually anti-social ones following her around and fawning on her lap. They had always seemed drawn to her for some reason. Kayami couldn't figure it out, so she just decided to go with it. Whatever the reason, Kayami nearly always had a cat around her.

She scratched under the cat's chin.

"Hey, baby," she cooed as the cat began purring.

Dark laughter echoed in Kayami's ears. She sat up, pulling the comforting warmth of the cat onto her lap.

"Who's there?!" she called.

_That seems to have become my mantra. 'who's there?' 'who's there?' _Kayami thought in disgust.

The laughter continued.

"Sesshomaru, if that's you...." Kayami trailed off. _What then, baka. What would you do?_

_Shut up, already!_ Kayami was getting fed up with the annoying truths that her mind kept bringing up.

Kayami took a breath to yell to the laughing person again, but it stopped.

Kayami opened her worthless eyes as she turned her face around.

The cat clawed her shirt as it leaned up towards her face.

"Stop, kitty." Kayami irritably pushed it away when its whiskers touched her face.

It growled, and Kayami tried to put it down. A yowl screeched in Kayami's ears as the cat protested this action angrily. It dug its claws into Kayami's chest and neck. She cried out. A sharp pain was ripping through her body, stemming from the pinpricks caused by the cat's claws. Eyes closed tightly, Kayami fell to the forest floor.

_Let me in....let me use this body....surrender your mind...._The voice of the dark laughter was in Kayami's mind. She writhed in pain. Her heart was pounding painfully against her rib cage, as though trying to escape.

_No,....please.. ..leave me alone....No....NO!!! _

"NOOO!!!!"


	5. Chapter 4: Cousins Reunited

Chapter Four: Kagome and Kayami - Cousins United

Shippo pushed the low-hanging branches out of his way.

"Kagome? Is that you?" he called towards the direction of the well.

There was no reply. A bush rustled on the opposite side of the well just as Shippo got into the clearing of the Bone-Eater's Well.

"Hel-lo!" he called. His foxtail puffed up like a cat's when, again, there was no answer. A youkai's scent slunk into his nose and his eyes widened in fear.

"Waaaa-aagh!" Shippo ran back to Kaede's village as fast as he could.

"Kagome!! Inuyasha!!" Shippo yelled as he ran past the first few houses. He took a nose-dive into Kaede's house.

Inuyasha and Miroku looked up from their bowls of noodles, and Sango sat up from her comfortable spot. Kilara, who had been cuddling with Sango, looked at Shippo with something akin to disdain. Kaede paid Shippo no attention.

"What is it now, baka?" Inuyasha asked disinterestedly, focusing on his noodles again.

"Did Kagome head back to her era?" Shippo asked the gang.

"No," Sango replied, as Inuyasha and Miroku's mouths were both full of noodle.

"Well, someone either came out of, or went into the Bone-Eater's Well. Hey, can I have some noodles?" Shippo sniffed at Miroku's bowl, either ignoring or not noticing the other's expressions of shock.

Shippo yelped as Inuyasha grabbed him by his neck.

"WHAT?!?" he bellowed at Shippo.

At that moment, Kagome entered Kaede's house. She stood for a moment in the doorway, observing the scene. Sango, Miroku, Kilara and Kaede smiled at her, but Inuyasha started hitting Shippo.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, then said, "Sit, boy!"

Inuyasha crashed to the floor, and Shippo ran to Kagome and jumped onto her back.

"SAVE ME!!" he whimpered. Kagome sighed, and put him down next to Miroku.

"Why were you beating on Shippo this time, Inuyasha?" Kagome sighed as she sat next to Sango and scratched Kilara's head.

"You can't sit down and relax!! Someone was by the Bone-Eater's Well!"

"Hey, let go! Sit!"

"WOULD YOU STOP THAT!!"

"Only if you start behaving and stop yanking my arm! Inu baka! Sit, boy!"

Miroku looked up from his now-empty bowl.

"I guess we should go check it out....If only to keep Inuyasha's back from hurting from more 'sits'."

Kaede nodded sagely. "Ye be right, Miroku. Something is amiss. Go, children, and fix whatever problem is making my poor old bones ache in fear."

_*** * * * ***_

_**Shortly Afterwards - At The Bone-Eater's Well**_

_*** * * * ***_

"Inuyasha, are you done yet? We have to go after the person who came out of the well!" Kagome sighed and plopped down next to Sango and Miroku, who had been sitting for a while.

"No! I think Sesshomaru was here, too! But his scent disappears, right around....here! It's just gone! I don't understand!!" Inuyasha stomped his foot in frustration.

Sango and Kagome stared, then looked at each other and burst into giggles. Miroku sighed, and went back to contemplating a beetle on a blade of grass. Shippo was preoccupied with some cookies from Kagome's booksack.

"What the hell is so funny?" Inuyasha marched over to the sitting girls with a scowl. He stood over them, looming like a thundercloud. Sango rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Inuyasha, you've stopped sniffing, so can we go after this person already?!" Kagome stood up and looked Inuyasha in the eye. He blinked, then growled.

"Fine."

Kagome climbed onto his back, and Miroku, Sango and Shippo got onto Kilara's.

"Let's go!" Inuyasha called over his shoulder at Kilara, then nearly tripped in surprise as she soared over his head.

Sango looked down at him. "Hey, keep up, would you?" Kagome laughed as Inuyasha growled.

The miles flew by, and soon Inuyasha called Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilara down to travel on the ground.

"The scent is getting stronger....we're getting close," he explained when Shippo asked him why.

Suddenly, he dropped to his hands and knees as a new scent appeared.

_A demon?!_ Shippo smelled it, too.

"Is that a hanyou or a youkai? I can't tell, but it smells like some sort of cat," Inuyasha growled at this.

"A cat demon came through here?" Miroku asked, "But I don't sense any demon aura...." His brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Yeah, well, I can smell it. And I trust my nose a whole lot more than your **mystical powers**," Inuyasha sneered at him.

Kagome sighed. "Sit, boy," she said offhandedly.

"AAAAAAARGH!!"

"I thought the whole point of not flying Kilara was so that we could sneak up on whoever is out here?" Sango asked irritably.

Inuyasha glowered at Sango, but held his tongue.

"Wait! I do sense the demonic aura!" Miroku exclaimed, gripping his staff tightly.

"Well, come on! We can't let this mortal get hurt or anything!" Shippo heroically bounded ahead. Everyone else stood still and watched him go.

Within seconds, he came scrambling back to the group.

"Th-th-there-there was-th-there was moan!" he said from the relative safety of Sango's arms.

"Whassa matter, Mr. Big Brave Warrior, too scared to go it alone?" Inuyasha pulled out Tetsuiga. Kagome sighed but let it go. "Let's go." Inuyasha gestured to Miroku.

The group burst into a clearing, brandishing sword, arrow, boomerang, claws and staff.

At first glance, the glade appeared unoccupied, but then Sango gasped.

"Who is that?!" she gestured nervously at the figure lying prone at the far end. The female figure was lying with her back turned to them, her long black hair splayed out towards them. Her black denim-clad legs were set a crooked angles which looked very uncomfortable, and her left arm was twisted behind her.

Kagome was the first person to cross the hollow. She knelt beside the figure and gently took her arm and turned her over, settling her legs into a more comfortable position with care. Kagome brushed the girl's hair out of her face, then gasped and flung herself violently away. Inuyasha was there to catch her.

"What's wrong?!" He said, holding her tightly.

Sango peered at the girl. She appeared to be seventeen-ish with slim black eyebrows and thick eyelashes. Her lips were of medium size, and her face was rather pointed. High cheekbones emphasized the dimensions of her large eyes which were closed in apparent sleep. Her face was nothing remarkable, and neither was the rest of her. If the girl stood up, she would be about Inuyasha's height, and although her body was slim and athletic, nothing stood out besides her clothes, which was pretty normal, since she was reputably from Kagome's era. Sango turned around to ask Kagome what was wrong, when she saw Miroku staring at the sleeping girl. She glared.

"What?" Miroku asked when he noticed Sango glowering at him.

Sango flipped her bangs and ignored him. "Kagome, what's wrong?"

"It's....but....it can't p-p-possibly...." Inuyasha shook her. Kagome was stuttering, pale and shaky. She blinked and seemed to come to her senses.

"She looks like my cousin from America....but how is she here?!"

At that moment, the girl moaned again. Every one jumped and turned to stare at her, except Miroku, who, upon catching Sango's eye, turned and studied the bushes at the edge of the clearing.

"No....please....leave me alone....No....NOOOOOO!!!" She sat up, her eyes open wide, with a scream of pain and fear. Her eyes were reddish-amber, and she had cat-like pupils. Kagome scrambled towards her.

"Kayami!!!"

Chapter Five: At First Glance

Pain flooded through Kayami's heart and she wrenched herself to a sitting position with a scream.

"NOOOOOO!!!"

"Kayami! Kayami, it's all right!" Hands were on her shoulders, pushing her back down. Kayami fought the hands, trying to push the person away.

A new pair of hands grabbed her and pinned her down sharply. Kayami gasped, her eyes staring up.

"I've got her Kagome," a young-ish male voice said.

"Be careful with her, Inuyasha!" the female voice who had originally tried to calm her down admonished the person holding her.

"Let go of me." Kayami tried to sound menacing.

"Oh, yeah? And what if I don't?" the male voice taunted.

"Miroku," the first voice said, "Would you please take over for Inuyasha?"

"Alright," gentler hands took over Kayami's shoulders.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?" he replied warily.

"Sit boy."

A loud crash made the ground tremble, and three people laughed.

"Don't mess with my cousin, baka!" the girl's voice said.

Suddenly, Kayami recognized the girl.

"Kagome?!" she sat up, pulling roughly away from the hands restraining her.

Kayami shrieked indignantly as one of the gentle hands on that were on her shoulders stroked her bottom. She brought her hand around and made contact with what felt like someone's face.

A new female voice said with a laughing lilt, "I think I like your cousin, Kagome."

Kagome, the other woman and a young boy's laughter filled the clearing.

"What? I was just saying hello," Miroku said.

Kayami spun around towards him, then gasped and nearly fell over. Kagome caught her.

"Kayami! What's wrong?!" Kagome's voice was worried.

"I....I think....am I....seeing?"

"What?!"

Kayami stared around the clearing. She couldn't make sense of anything that she was seeing. _How strange...._she thought. She lifted a hand in front of her face and started when she saw the movement.

"Wow...." She whispered.

"Do you mean that you were blind?" the young boy who had laughed at Miroku asked Kayami and she turned her head towards him.

"Can you move again?" She asked, "So that I can make sure that I'm looking at you."

Kayami stretched her hand towards the boy's voice and nearly screamed when he moved and put his head under her hand. She stared at him.

"My name's Shippo," he said.

"Um, hello, Shippo...."

Kagome moved from behind Kayami, where she had been supporting her in case Kayami fell over again.

Kayami kept her hand on Shippo's head and turned to look at Kagome.

"Hey....cousin," She smiled.

Something happened to Kagome's face, and Kayami blinked.

"What just happened?" Her voice trembled slightly.

"What do you mean?" Kagome's voice was worried, and something new happened to her face.

"Your face....it keeps changing...."

"Huh?" several voices, including Kagome's said.

"Oh!" The woman's voice made Kayami and Kagome jump.

"What is it, Sango?" Kagome asked.

"Has she been blind all her life?" Kayami looked over in the direction of the voice.

"Yes, I have."

"So, you don't know what facial expressions are!"

"Oh!" Kagome said.

Sango sat down next to Kayami. She stared at Sango, trying to make sense of what her eyes were telling her.

"Do you know colors?" Sango's voice was business-like and crisp.

"No."

"Do you know shapes?"

"Well, I know what they feel like, but not how they look....""I thought so. Well, we'll just have to start from the beginning." The same contortion of her face that Kayami had seen on Kagome's face happened to Sango. She yelped. Kagome's hands were on her shoulders again, stroking and soothing.

"Sorry!" Sango said, her hands on Kayami's arms. "That was a smile!"

"A smile?!" Kayami tried to smile at Sango and Kayami, but unexpectedly her stomach heaved and she bent over, her face to the ground. She groaned, and Kagome and Sango held her hair away from her face as she was violently sick.

"Kayami! What's wrong!?" Kagome cried.

Miroku stepped forward, a sutra in his hand and a strange look on his face.

"Get away!" Kayami screamed as the sutra got near her. She pushed herself violently away from Kagome and Sango and scrambled backward to get away from the monk. She wiped her hand across her mouth, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Inuyasha and Shippo sniffed the air.

"Inuyasha, do you smell that?"

Inuyasha nodded, his hand on the hilt of Tetsigua and his amber eyes fixated on the snarling teenage girl on the other side of the clearing.

"Miroku! Stop it!" Kagome cried, grabbing his Wind Tunnel arm.

"Wait, Kagome! Look at your cousin!" Sango said, reaching for her Hirakatsu.

Kagome, still hanging onto Miroku's arm, looked at Kayami, and nearly screamed when she saw the change that had come over the once-blind girl.

Kayami had cat's pupils and her eyes were redder than ever. Her fingernail were black and cruelly curved and her ears had pointy tips. Kayami's canine teeth were long and feral-looking. She was a terrifying sight, snarling and ferocious as she was now.

"Kayami-chan?" Kagome asked, her eyes wide with worry.

Kayami's teeth snapped together and she whipped her head towards Kagome. Her hair flew in all directions, and another change was made apparent. Kayami's hair had changed color. It was still black, but instead of the solid color of a few minutes ago, it had strange red-brown highlights that looked like fire.

Inuyasha stepped forward, Tetsigua drawn and unwaveringly pointed at Kayami.

"Stay away from her, Kagome. She's been possessed," he said.

Miroku grabbed Kagome's sleeve and Sango's arm.

"Come on, we have to get away from her," Sango followed Miroku behind Inuyasha to where Shippo was sitting easily, but Kagome fought to get to her cousin.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha leapt forward and grabbed her as Kayami stepped forward, growling.

Kagome screamed as Kayami leapt forward and tried to scratch her face with her claws. Inuyasha was knocked over and Miroku reached to unleash his Wind Tunnel. Sango grabbed his arm.

"No, Miroku! That's still Kagome's cousin, even if she is being possessed by a demon right now!"

"Damn," he said. Then he turned to Inuyasha who was standing back up, growling back at Kayami who was facing off with him.

"Inuyasha! Do not hurt the human!"

"Whaddaya mean, don't hurt the human? I'm gonna kill the demon!"

"INUYASHA!!" Kagome yelled from her position by Shippo where she had crawled after being attacked by Kayami. "Don't hurt her! If you swing Tetsigua at her or fight with her, you'll hurt her! Don't!"

"Well, whaddaya want I should do, then, huh?" Inuyasha snarled.

"Inuyasha, let me handle this, okay?" The dog demon growled at the monk but sheathed his sword.

Miroku turned to Kayami.

"Kayami – " She was gone.

Kagome screamed, "KAYAMI!!"


End file.
